Short liquidations hit $600M as majors rally

TLDR

Around $600 million of leveraged crypto positions were liquidated in the past day, mostly shorts, as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP rallied together.

1. Data providers show roughly $600 million in liquidations over 24 hours, with about two thirds coming from short sellers, led by BTC, ETH and XRP.
2. Rising prices triggered a classic short squeeze, helped by softer US jobs data and lower rate hike expectations, lifting majors while derivatives leverage partially reset.
3. The move looks squeeze driven rather than pure fresh demand, with ETF outflows, thin liquidity and a Fear regime suggesting traders should treat this as a fragile relief rally.

Deep Dive

1. Size And Shape Of The Liquidations

Multiple sources report total liquidations around 600 million dollars over the last 24 hours, with short positions making up roughly 400 million of that pile, according to CoinGlass data cited by Decrypt and Yahoo Finance in a joint piece on major coins rallying as shorts were rekt. These reports note Ethereum contributing about 187 million dollars of liquidations and Bitcoin roughly 184 million, with shorts dominating the damage in both cases as prices rebounded above 62,000 dollars for BTC and around 1,700 dollars for ETH.

Coindesk describes a closely aligned picture, highlighting about 440 million dollars in forced closures, of which 281 million were shorts, as Bitcoin approached 62,000 dollars and Solana gained nearly 19 percent on the week in a strong multi?day rally for majors. XRP also saw its own localized squeeze, with Tokenpost noting total crypto liquidations near 634 million dollars and XRP shorts accounting for over 80 percent of XRP related losses, after the token broke above 1.02 to 1.06 dollars.

2. Short Squeeze Mechanics And Macro Help

The pattern is textbook squeeze behavior. As prices climbed off recent lows, highly leveraged shorts were forced to close, which meant buying back into rising markets and pushing prices into new bands where more shorts were sitting, a feedback loop described clearly in Coindesks coverage of Ether and Solana leading the rally. Bitcoin.com adds that over 606 million dollars in leveraged positions were liquidated in 24 hours, with nearly 400 million dollars in short bets unwound and a single accumulation spike of 270,000 BTC by large holders, reinforcing the upward move.

Macro data helped flip sentiment. Weaker than expected US jobs numbers and softer rate hike odds reduced pressure from the Federal Reserve, as noted in the Decrypt and Coindesk reports, with lower bond yields making risk assets like crypto more attractive at the margin. CMCs market overview shows total crypto market cap up about 2.5 percent over 24 hours to 2.14 trillion dollars while perpetual futures open interest dipped slightly, suggesting prices rose even as some leverage was taken off, rather than from new aggressive borrowing.

3. Sustainability Signals And Risks To Watch

On the structural side, ETF flows and sentiment still look cautious. Crypto.news points out that US spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen persistent net outflows in recent sessions, with hundreds of millions of dollars redeemed, even as prices bounced above 60,000 dollars, a sign that some institutional money is still stepping back rather than adding risk. CMCs ETF AUM data shows Bitcoin ETF assets down sharply from last month, reinforcing that flows remain a headwind.

Sentiment is also far from euphoric. CoinMarketCaps Fear and Greed Index sits in the low 20s in the fear zone, and the Altcoin Season Index around the mid 40s indicates neither a full risk off nor a broad alts melt up, which fits a relief rally scenario rather than a new cycle leg. At the same time, Bitcoin dominance is stable near 58 percent, implying majors are leading more than speculative microcaps.

Key things to monitor from here are: whether ETF outflows slow or reverse, whether funding rates stay modest rather than spiking, and whether spot volumes in BTC and ETH build on this move instead of fading as shorts are cleared. If prices stall and new shorts rebuild while macro data turns less friendly, the squeeze can unwind quickly.

Conclusion

Short liquidations in the neighborhood of 600 million dollars have turbocharged a relief rally across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP, with derivatives leverage resetting and macro conditions briefly supportive. However, ongoing ETF outflows, fear?zone sentiment and only modest changes in open interest suggest this is more a positioning clean?up than a confirmed trend reversal. The outlook hinges on whether genuine spot demand and calmer ETF flows follow through; without that, this squeeze driven bounce could prove temporary.